Reviews by mmva321:

A: Pale ale is a pale yellow highlighted by the christmas lights on the other side cloudy and hazy because of the liquid and tiny bubblesthat rise in succession to rocky white foam that leaves rocky white lacing along the side.

S: A hint of alcohol penetrates the nose that is subverted by bananas and oranges and apples and an earthy yeast that provide the base of the famous hops that this beer hopes to become known for. Rise up hops and take your place at the forefront of this glass! You are too timid as of yet!

T: These hops could overthrow the bourgeoisie and the stalinists and america and mass produced lagers and still have enough drive to make you cringe from the bitterness. Mixed with the faint alcohol its a challenge, but an oh so something reward. Some yeast and citrus round it all out.

More User Reviews:

An exquisit display of what it means to be a Belgian IPA. A whole-hearted and classy Belgian Strong Pale Ale with the complexly integrated hops of Belgium/Czech/German and American. ...and then the beer never waivers from its Belgian soul.

As with the original Duvel, the beer has a medium gold color with that classic billowing fluffy white head that eventually settles into a rocky sturdiness, intricate lacing patterns, and hearty retention that is constantly fueled by steady streams of carbonation from below. Where this beer differs is the medium haze, obviously from the dry-hop processes. The quentessential stickly lace of the original Duvel plays at least an equal role here.

Taking the original Duvel and superplanting the hop character of citrus, spice, earth, and ultimate perfumy and floral scents, this beer is everything that makes Duvel ideal, except for more.

Still, the body of this Tripel Hop Duvel is as full and effervecent early as ever. The medium weight magically evaporates just as the mid palate turns to finish and then 'poof!', the beer is gone. All that's left is a bitter whisper of the beer with an aftertaste of spice, fruit, hops, and bitterness.

As wonderful as Duvel is, this new highly hopped version makes for the best Belgian IPA I've had to date. But it looses some of the simple beauty of original Duvel with all of this complexity. Did the beer demand more complexity? No, of course not but the result is powerfully playful yet delicately orchestrated. Well done Moortgat!

Picked this up at Dennis Brothers - haven't seen it around in Chicago. Served in a Leinenkugel's pint glass. Bottle is dated May 18th, 2010.

A - Looks like Duvel. Pours with a huge white foam that eventually settles to big chunk cap, leaving splotchy lace everywhere. Transparent golden straw body with lots of bubbles.

S - Smells like hoppy Duvel. Big zesty noble hop character - herbaceous and lemony - along with some spicy esters from the Belgian yeast. Some alcohol gets in the way of things unfortunately - seemed boozier than the regular stuff.

T - Taste has some cattiness, herbal leafy zest, and floral notes over top of a pale malt and Belgian yeast backdrop. Also finishes with a hint of alcohol. More of a 4.25 for me so I bumped up appearance a notch to compensate.

M - Creamy medium body, low carbonation (it's all in the foam), a touch of alcohol warmth, and a dry finish. Solid in this department.

D - This was quite drinkable. I had a few pours and would purchase it again if it weren't so dang expensive. It's like a slightly more boozy Dominus Vobiscum Lupulus.

Appearance - This is a very appealing light golden orange in color and full of hazy goodness. The white head came up easy and left cool-looking pits along with the traditional Belgian lacing.

Smell - The big orange and coriander showed some terrific, mature depth that just screamed quality. There's also some very mild white pepper. The beauty of this nose is not a wanderous sense of complexity but is more about the aromatic depth of the ingredients.

Taste - The orange peel gains the upper hand at the taste. It's big and powerful, borderline medicinal, with an overabundance of coriander and pepper.

Mouthfeel - This is full-bodied with some brilliant, boisterous carbonation and a hopping bitter middle. The finish is curt and satisfying.

Drinkability - This is in essence a suped up version of the standard BSPA and is a real heavy-hitter. It should be enjoyed on an empty stomach.

Update – I had the opportunity to try this again on New Year’s Eve weekend 2011 and it seemed to be better than my original tasting. Even then I enjoyed this immensely but now the head was incredible, white as snow and ultra puffy, the nose showed more complexity, and I got some light sweetish grapefruit at the taste that added the missing balance. Overall this went from a really good beer to a great beer and I upped a couple of my ratings a bit.

A: A pale golden beer with decent clarity. A persistent, thick white head that leave lacing on the glass and is made of sticky, rocky foam.

S: A strong fruit and herbal aroma of lemons, dill and light touch of peach with a medium-low grassiness. There is a medium pepper-like spice aroma and a light malt sweetness.

T: A fruity and spicy beer with hops flavors of lemon, earthy and spicy. There is a firm amount of pepper from the yeast along with some additional fruitiness that is a light peach-like fruit. The balance is fairly bitter having a medium-strong hop bitterness and a very dry body. light malt character and a bitter aftertaste.

M: A medium bodied beer with a fairly strong level of carbonation and a light alcohol warmth.

O: Another awesome beer, I've had the previous batches and prefer the one I had a couple years back when it was fresh but I gladly pick a few of the well crafted beers.

My bottle was brewed in may 2010 and is best by 5/2013...I noticed in the other reviews that the beer is better with age. Though my sample is new, I consider it to be fantastic. I am not a as seasoned a reviewer as most of this beer but I think that I am in love. I am unfamiliar with Duvel for the most part,but this amarrying of a tripel and pale ale is genious. The typical banana sweetness of a tripel paired with a properly distributed amount of hops makes for a great beer. The spicey sweet aromas with the hoppy flavor is great. The brew is seemingly balanced with a in style and possesses a crispness and carbonation that makews it refreshing. The ABV is no joke...but I really appreciate this offering from duvel.

A - Light golden straw color, very clear, highly carbonated. Nice head, very white, a bit rocky and maintained by all that carbonation.

S - Grassy, phenols give a spiciness, and a citric sweetness.

T - Light malts, slight grassiness carries over from the aroma. Lots of spiciness from the phenols made by the yeast. A bit of sweetness in the middle, hints of pear, followed by increasing bitterness. Finishes very dry, sweetness is gone, and end with a pronounced alcohol flavor.

M - Is it possible for a beer to have a complex mouthfeel? I think this one does! Starts off cool, immediately progressing into a tingle from all the carbonation as you swallow, and then progressing into a nice warmth from the alcohol, yet managing to finish very clean.

D - Extremely refreshing, the bitterness helps balance the high ABV, the carbonation and spiciness help it to finish dry with a pleasant aftertaste and warmth. Very nice.

Gebrouwen op 18mei2010In a snifter the beer was a hazy pale yellow color with a thick white head. The head decreased in size rapidly.Candy sugar aroma, citrus, and floral.Great taste: earthy, piney hops, some grapefruit. They went well together.I thought this was a nicely hopped, well-balanced beer.A bit on the expensive side.

Aggressive pour into my chalice golden color with nice pale yellow head that retains well. Nice lace.Sweet, astringent taste that does the style justice but the intended hop presence isn't as pronounced as I expected.A very good beer though, just not overwhelming.

This is the king of all beers, the taste is exceptional and the after flavor is citrusy and hoppy... the head is about three fingers and beautiful to look at !!! I think is worth every pennie out of the $22.00 dlls that I paid for it, enjoy it with dry fruit and nuts, of course a good strong chesse will finish it perfectly...

Presentation: It was poured from a dark brown, corked bottle into a tulip glass. The bottle came with a little info booklet, which gives some background on the beer and the three hop varieties used in the beer. The label also has the hops listed as well as the abv (9.5%) and a best before date (11/04/13).

Appearance: The body has a clear golden color on the first two glasses and a pale hazy golden color on the following glasses as the yeast unsettles from the bottom of the bottle. It also has a lot of wonderful champagne like carbonation streaming up to the tall frothy head. This head is white in color and thick. This makes for an excellent long lasting head that clings to the glass and leaves thick sticky lacing behind as I drink.

Smell: in the nose I get the classic Duvel character with notes of fruity (pear/apple) and funky yeast blended with a bigger more complex hop character. There are nice delicate pilsner like floral hops mixed with spicy and herbaceous hop notes. A mild pine like note also comes and goes in the nose. Behind all of this is a noticeable but expected alcoholic presence.

Taste/Palate: Its flavor matches the aroma perfectly and finishes with a solid dry bitterness slowly fading off the tongue. The firm medium body is lifted by the fine and quite active carbonation which helps to cleanse the palate and keep things light.

Notes: I am a big fan of the regular Duvel and this adaptation takes it to a whole new level. I had high expectations and it did not disappoint. I am very happy that I was able to find this at my local beer store and enjoy it for myself.

The beer pours a hazy yellow color with a white head. The aroma is lemon, Belgian yeast and Belgian candi sugar. The flavor is more Belgian candi sugar as well as some citrus fruit, both lemons and oranges. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation. I didn't enjoy this as much as regular Duvel, but it was still very good.

2012 edition: dry-hopped with Citra. A 330ml bottle with a BB of Jan 2015. Picked up a little while ago from Trembling Madness in York. The label states that it is hopped with Citra, Saaz and Styrian Goldings, followed by further dry-hopping with Citra. The recipe is supposed to have a different hop variety each year. Bottle conditioned.

Poured into a Duvel tulip (of course). An amazing pale-gold colour with slight haze and plentiful carbonation. Produces a massive head of creamy white foam with excellent retention; this lasts for ages before slowly reducing to a thick surface layer. Patchy lacing on the glass. It looks fantastic. Aroma of fruity yeast esters and flowery hops: notes of lemon, citrus, grass/hay, mild clove, faint coriander, spice and earthy yeast. A subtle whiff of booze in the background. Lovely.

Tastes of fruity Belgian yeast with a light hoppy character and a dry finish. Notes of clove, phenolics, spice, earthy yeast, mild citrus, faint lemon and grassy stewed hops. A solventy alcoholic twang in the background, followed by a subtle bitterness upon swallowing. Mouthfeel is smooth, spicy, tingly and dry, with spritzy carbonation and good body. Somewhat astringent, with an aftertaste of fruity yeast and mild hoppy notes.

Superb - like regular Duvel with extra aroma. When it comes to hoppy Belgian beers (Belgian IPAs) I tend to sit on the fence, as I find that the yeast and hop flavours clash. Not so with this one. The light Citra notes marry beautifully with the fruity yeast character; they complement one another perfectly. I only wish the hop aroma came across more in the flavour - it seemed weaker than it was on the nose. My other criticism is that the booze is a tad excessive, resulting in a borderline harshness to the flavour. However, this remains a sterling effort - simply delicious. Don't hesitate to grab one if you come across it.

Finally opened the bottle I received in trade from ygtbsm94. Thanks again!!

Poured into the classic trademark Duvel glass with the classic trademark massive Duvel foaming action. Amazing rocky, meringue-like formations as the head settles, leaving tons of lacing and islands of foam. Drinking Duvel is never anything less than a spectacle, and Duvel Tripel Hop just takes it to the next level. Wonderful deep golden honeycomb coloration with just the right touch of haziness. Smell was incredible with a sweet citrus note that reminded me distinctly of the scent of fresh oranges (presumably due to the addition of Amarillo hops). More delicious, sweet citrus fruit in the flavor along with flavors of honey and tart peach. Finishes with a more traditionally bitter (re: Duvelesque) and clean hop flavor. Mouthfeel was absolutely terrific, reminiscent of original Duvel but just a bit more viscous. Due to its relatively high rarity and the substantial alcohol level, I can't really see drinking a lot of this at once. I would, however, drink it again in a heartbeat. It was just a tad too sweet overall, however this might be due to the age of the bottle and therefore the true hop character fading a bit. Still, the front-and-center orange flavor floored me...I really wish they'd start making this stuff on a regular basis because it would become a staple in my fridge.